7 Sat

13 Fri

7:30pm | Techno Contra: It’s a new twist on an old dance tradition as Bates presents a techno contradance. The music is by Night Creatures, blending folk, funk and electronic influences; calling is by Dugan Murphy. All dances are taught and beginners are encouraged to come join the fun — no previous experience necessary. Beginners’ lesson at 7:30, dancing at 8pm. Admission: $5–$8. FMIfreewillfolk@gmail.com.

14 Sat

1:30pm | Bates Debate Tournament: The Brooks Quimby Debate Council welcomes debaters from northeastern colleges. Open to the public are five elimination rounds that will determine the tournament champion. FMIawestber@bates.edu.Pettengill Hall, ground floor classrooms

15 Sun

3pm | Men’s club hockey vs. Maine.Underhill Arena

7pm | The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Interfaith Service: With a talk titled Compassion, Critical Refusals, and Imagination: Finding the Courage to Respond to Hate, the Rev. Dr. Charles Howard offers the message at this annual service that celebrates the spiritual dimensions of peace and justice work through music, prayer, art, and word. Howard is the university chaplain and dean of religious and spiritual life at the University of Pennsylvania. The service includes moments for meditative reflection, along with jazz, gospel and multifaith music by Bates community members. See the MLK Day program for related events on Jan. 15.Gomes Chapel

16 Mon

Martin Luther King Jr. Day: In observance of the holiday, classes are canceled and special programming takes place around campus throughout the day. This year’s theme is “Reparations: Addressing Racial Injustices.” FMIbates.edu/mlk.

9am | No Reparations Without Racial Education: Martin Luther King on the Tyranny of Ignorance. Khalil Gibran Muhammad delivers the King Day keynote address. An authority on racial criminalization in the U.S., Muhammad is a professor of history, race and public policy at Harvard’s Kennedy School and is the Suzanne Young Murray Professor at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Studies.Gomes Chapel | See the livestream at bates.edu/mlk/live

10:45am & 2pm | King Day workshops: Faculty, staff, students, alumni and community members lead workshops relating to the King Day theme in morning and afternoon sessions. FMIbates.edu/mlk.Around campus

3:15pm | The Rev. Benjamin Elijah Mays, Class of 1920, Debate: Bates and Morehouse College students in the popular annual debate. This year’s motion: “This house believes the state should exclusively focus on rectifying current inequalities to the exclusion of compensating for historical injustices.” Free, but tickets required: bit.ly/mlk-debate-17 or 207-786-6400.Olin Concert Hall | See the livestream at bates.edu/mlk/live

7:30pm | Sankofa presentsTestimonies of Melanin Magic: A student group explores the history and diverse experiences of the African diaspora through dance, music, theater and spoken word. Free, but tickets required: bit.ly/mlk-sankofa17-evening, 207-786-8294 or 207-786-6400.Schaeffer Theatre

7pm | The Little Colleges That Can’t Outrun Their Pasts: A talk about the moral obligations arising from the historical treatment of race at elite colleges and universities by Craig Steven Wilder, a professor of history at MIT and author of Ebony and Ivy: Race, Slavery, and the Troubled History of America’s Universities. The Moral Obligations of Race at Liberal Arts Colleges lecture series is co-sponsored by the Andrews Fund of the Multifaith Chaplaincy, the offices of Equity and Diversity and the Dean of the Faculty, and the departments of education, philosophy and psychology. FMI 207-786-8272.Olin Concert Hall

Museum of Art

Through March 18

Phantom Punch: Contemporary Art from Saudi Arabia in Lewiston, Maine: A significant exhibition of leading and emerging Saudi artists, along with programming designed to spark timely cross-cultural dialogue. One of a series of related exhibitions presented nationwide, Phantom Punch introduces artists who create smart, topical, funny, culturally resonant and technically savvy work.